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Iltirtkesk (Ilergetes Warriors)
Iltirtkesk are courageous and strong Ilergetian line infantrymen. Equipped with thureoi and longswords, they ferociously charge against their enemies and offer battle in close order after throwing their soliferra and heavy javelins. Description While the morning breeze cools your face, beyond, in the distance, not only you can hear them, you can also see them under the light of a new day. The allies' war cries put new courage into the hearts of your countrymen. Many warriors dressed in short linen and woolen tunics of many different peoples that go into battle with oval shields and longswords have come. Now you can confirm the type of warriors who are arriving to your encounter: princes' clients who will steal their enemies' cattle, devoted warriors that will sacrifice their lives for their chief and strong men who can potentially become mercenaries. From among all of them you can distinguish the Iltiŕtkesk because of their standards. They are the hegemonic people, they are the ones who will fight in the place of honour: the well deserved right flank, they are the ones that will face and defeat our enemies with bravery. Historically, the peoples who inhabited in the northeast of the Iberian Peninsula were the ones that interacted with La Tène weaponry most. They combined the thureoi with the La Tène swords and spears with both Celtic heads and Iberian ones. They also made use of iron helmets of Celtic type on an exceptional basis. The usage of the soliferra and the pila is also attested among the peoples of this area where unlike in the southeastern coast, both the caetra and the falcata were rare weapons.The Barcids' arrival and the Second Punic War supposed a small modification of this panoply through the introduction of the Montefortino helmets. Lacetani, Suessetani, Sedetani, Cessetani are only some of the many ethnicities that coexisted in the northeastern area. From among all of them, the Ilergetae were the most emphasized by the written sources due to their prominence during the Second Punic War and because the confrontation against Scipio through two battles. Indibilis and Mandonius (the Ilergetian chiefs) convened their allies the Lacetani and plundered the territories of the Suessetani and Sedetani. This fact degenerated into the first pitched battle in which the Ilergetae gathered a huge army formed by skirmishers, line infantry and cavalry. According to Livy (28, 33), both Romans and Ilergetae fought in a similar way: "at first they annoyed each other with missiles; but afterwards, having discharged their light weapons, which were calculated to provoke rather than to decide the contest, they drew their swords, and began to engage foot to foot". Finally, the Iberians were defeated although inflicted severe casualties among Romans and their allies (according to Livy, one thousand two hundred died and more than three thousand were wounded). In the second battle, the Ilergetae raised an army of thirty thousand infantry and four thousand horsemen. Livy (29, 2) says that "at sunrise, the whole force displayed their line, armed and drawn out for battle (...). The Ausetanians were in the centre, the right wing was occupied by the Ilergetians, the left by some inconsiderable states of Spain". The battle became a fierce fighting in which "the prince Indibilis in person, together with the dismounted cavalry, opposed himself to the enemy before the front rank of the infantry". Only when he was pinned to the earth by a javelin, resulting in his death, the Ilergetae resistance was ceased. The Battle of Emporion was another important clash between northeastern Iberians and Romans (leaded by Cato) which took place in the context of the Iberian rebellion after the Second Punic War (197-195 BC). This time the Ilergetae did not participate in the battle. The confrontation started with a trick on the part of Cato. Through a fake retreat, he got Iberians to abandon their camp. Livy (34, 14) describes this battle in detail: "While they (Iberians) were hastily marshalling their troops, the consul, who had all his in readiness, and in regular array, attacked them when in disorder". Cato sent his cavalry to the charge although the right wing was repulsed spreading confusion among the Roman infantry. Then, Cato sent two chosen cohorts in order to attack Iberians on their rear. Livy continues: "As long as the fight was carried on with missile weapons, success was doubtful; and on the right wing, where the disorder and flight had first began, the Romans with difficulty kept their ground. On their left wing, the barbarians were both hard pressed in in front; and looked back, with timidity, at the cohorts that threatened their rear. But when, after discharging their soliferra and their falaricas, they drew their swords, the battle, in a manner, began anew. They were no longer wounded by random blows from a distance, but, closing foot to foot, placed all their hope in courage and strength". Finally, Cato sent into the fight some subsidiary cohorts from the second line. This tactical maneuver marked the beginning of the Roman victory. The battle finished with the attack of a second legion, which was in reserve, on the Iberian camp. The Iberians, who lacked the tactical depth of a Roman army were defeated, however they had offered a heavy battle characterized by a brave line infantry and an organized campaign that had supposed the establishment of a camp before battle. Category:Units available only in EB2 Category:Iberian Units Category:Arevaci Category:Karthadastim